V. Kumaraswamy

Velupillai Kumaraswamy (Tamil: வேலுப்பிள்ளை குமாரசுவாமி; 31 July 1919 – 10 March 1978)[1] was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament.

This article is about the Ceylon Tamil politician and Member of Parliament. For the Ceylon Tamil civil servant and diplomat, see V. Coomaraswamy.

Hon.

V. Kumaraswamy

MP
வே. குமாரசுவாமி
Member of the Ceylonese Parliament
for Chavakachcheri
In office
1947–1956
Succeeded byV. N. Navaratnam
Personal details
Born(1919-07-31)31 July 1919
Died10 March 1978(1978-03-10) (aged 58)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Alma materCeylon Law College
ProfessionLawyer
EthnicityCeylon Tamil

Early life and family

Kumaraswamy was born on 31 July 1919.[2] He was the son of Velupillai, a proctor from Chavakachcheri in northern Ceylon.[3] After school Kumaraswamy joined Ceylon Law College, qualifying as an advocate.

Kumaraswamy had a son (Vaheeswaran) and a daughter (Dushyanti).[3]

Career

Whilst still studying law, Kumaraswamy stood as the All Ceylon Tamil Congress's (ACTC) candidate in Chavakachcheri at the 1947 parliamentary election.[3] He won the election and entered Parliament.[4] Kumaraswamy became a Parliamentary Secretary after the ACTC joined the United National Party dominated government in 1948.[3][5]

Kumaraswamy was re-elected at the 1952 parliamentary election.[6] The ACTC left the UNP government in 1953 but Kumaraswamy chose to remain with the UNP.[7] Kumaraswamy left the UNP in 1956 over the party's support of the Sinhala Only Act.[7]

Kumaraswamy stood for re-election in the constituency at the 1956 parliamentary election as an independent candidate but was defeated by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) candidate V. N. Navaratnam.[3][8] He was the ACTC's candidate in the constituency at the March 1960 and 1970 parliamentary elections but on each occasion was defeated by Navaratnam.[9][10] He contested the 1977 parliamentary election as an independent candidate but was again defeated by Navaratnam.[11]

Kumaraswamy practised law in Colombo.[3]

References
  1. "குமாரசாமி காலமானார்" (PDF). Eelanadu. Jaffna, Sri Lanka. 11 March 1978. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. "Directory of Past Members: Kumaraswamy, Velupillai". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  3. Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 90.
  4. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  5. Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 14: Post-colonial realignment of political forces". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story.
  6. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  7. Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 15: Turbulence in any language". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story.
  8. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  9. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-03-19" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  10. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  11. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
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